diff --git a/portal-tools/delete_stale_records.cfg b/portal-tools/delete_stale_records.cfg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7d84c5b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/portal-tools/delete_stale_records.cfg
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+[db]
+hostname = 
+port = 3306
+username = 
+password = 
+schema_name = 
+# Name of the table to purge stale records from 
+table_name = NormalisedSummaries
+
+[common]
+# Timeframe (in hours) used to define the "recent" data window
+# Records newer than (MAX(UpdateTime) - timeframe) will be preserved
+timeframe = 24
+# Minimum number of records required within the timeframe to allow deletion
+# If preserved records < threshold, no deletion will occur
+threshold = 
+
+[logging]
+logfile = /var/log/apel/delete_stale_records.log
diff --git a/portal-tools/delete_stale_records.py b/portal-tools/delete_stale_records.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1b7496f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/portal-tools/delete_stale_records.py
@@ -0,0 +1,247 @@
+"""
+APEL - DELETE stale records from the DB
+
+This script connects to a MySQL database and deletes stale records from a specified table.
+Records are only deleted if the number of recent entries (within a user-defined timeframe)
+meets or exceeds a threshold.
+
+The script supports `--dry-run` mode.
+
+NOTE:
+    Before running this script, ensure the following:
+
+    - A valid configuration file (e.g. delete_stale_records.cfg) is present and accessible.
+    - A log file path (e.g. delete_stale_records.log) is defined either in the config
+      or via the --log_config argument.
+    - The directory for the log file exists and is writable.
+
+    You can override the default paths using:
+        --db /path/to/delete_stale_records.cfg
+        --log_config /path/to/delete_stale_records.log
+
+Usage:
+    python delete_stale_records.py
+    python delete_stale_records.py --dry-run
+    python delete_stale_records.py --db /path/to/delete_stale_records.cfg --log_config /path/to/delete_stale_records.log
+"""
+
+# Requirements:
+# mysqlclient==2.1.1  # Latest package; works with Python 3.9+. Dropped support for Python 3.6.
+# Installation examples:
+# - For Python 3.6: python3.6 -m pip install mysqlclient==2.1.1
+# - For Python 3.9: python3.9 -m pip install mysqlclient==2.1.1
+
+import logging
+import os
+import sys
+from argparse import ArgumentParser
+from configparser import ConfigParser, NoOptionError, NoSectionError
+from datetime import timedelta
+
+import MySQLdb
+
+# Constants
+LOG_BREAK = '====================='
+# Default config and log file paths
+DEFAULT_DB_CONFIG_PATH = '/etc/apel/delete_stale_records.cfg'
+DEFAULT_LOGFILE_PATH = '/var/log/apel/delete_stale_records.log'
+
+
+def delete_stale_records(config_parser, args):
+    """
+    Deletes stale records from the configured MySQL table based on UpdateTime.
+
+    Records older than (MAX(UpdateTime) - timeframe) are eligible for deletion,
+    but only if the number of recent records (within timeframe) meets the threshold.
+
+    Parameters:
+        config_parser: Parsed configuration object.
+        args: Parsed command-line arguments.
+    """
+    conn = None
+    cursor = None
+
+    try:
+        # Extract database details from the "*.cfg" file
+        db_config = {
+            'host': config_parser.get('db', 'hostname'),
+            'port': config_parser.getint('db', 'port'),
+            'user': config_parser.get('db', 'username'),
+            'password': config_parser.get('db', 'password'),
+            'schema_name': config_parser.get('db', 'schema_name'),
+            'table_name': config_parser.get('db', 'table_name'),
+            'timeframe': config_parser.getint('common', 'timeframe'),
+            'threshold': config_parser.getint('common', 'threshold'),
+        }
+
+        # Ensure no required string is empty
+        for key in ['host', 'port', 'user', 'password', 'schema_name', 'table_name']:
+            if not db_config[key].strip():
+                raise ValueError(f"'{key}' in config is empty")
+
+        # Numeric validations
+        if db_config['timeframe'] <= 0:
+            raise ValueError("'timeframe' must be > 0")
+        if db_config['threshold'] <= 0:
+            raise ValueError("'threshold' must be > 0")
+
+    except (NoSectionError, NoOptionError) as e:
+        print(f"Configuration error: {e}")
+        sys.exit(1)
+    except ValueError as e:
+        print(f"Invalid configuration value: {e}")
+        sys.exit(1)
+
+    try:
+        # Connect to MySQL
+        conn = MySQLdb.connect(
+            host=db_config['host'],
+            port=db_config['port'],
+            user=db_config['user'],
+            passwd=db_config['password'],
+            db=db_config['schema_name']
+        )
+        cursor = conn.cursor()
+
+        # Verify UpdateTime column exists
+        cursor.execute(
+            f"SHOW COLUMNS FROM {db_config['table_name']} LIKE 'UpdateTime'"
+        )
+
+        if cursor.fetchone() is None:
+            log.error(
+                f"'UpdateTime' column not found in table "
+                f"'{db_config['table_name']}'. Aborting operation."
+            )
+            return
+
+        # Get the latest UpdateTime value
+        cursor.execute(
+            f"SELECT MAX(UpdateTime) FROM {db_config['table_name']}"
+        )
+        result = cursor.fetchone()
+
+        if not result or not result[0]:
+            log.warning("No UpdateTime values found. Nothing to purge.")
+            return
+
+        max_update = result[0]
+        cutoff_time = max_update - timedelta(hours=db_config['timeframe'])
+        cutoff_str = cutoff_time.strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')
+
+        # Count preserved records
+        cursor.execute(
+            f"SELECT COUNT(*) FROM {db_config['table_name']} WHERE UpdateTime >= %s",
+            (cutoff_str,)
+        )
+        preserved_count = cursor.fetchone()[0]
+
+        # Count deletable records
+        cursor.execute(
+            f"SELECT COUNT(*) FROM {db_config['table_name']} WHERE UpdateTime < %s",
+            (cutoff_str,)
+        )
+        deletable_count = cursor.fetchone()[0]
+
+        # Summary log
+        summary = (
+            f"[SUMMARY] Table: {db_config['table_name']} | "
+            f"Timeframe: {db_config['timeframe']}h | "
+            f"Threshold: {db_config['threshold']} | "
+            f"Preserved: {preserved_count} | "
+            f"Deletable: {deletable_count} | "
+            f"Cutoff: {cutoff_str}"
+        )
+        log.info(summary)
+
+        # Threshold check
+        if preserved_count < db_config['threshold']:
+            log.warning(
+                f"Preserved records ({preserved_count}) below threshold "
+                f"({db_config['threshold']}). Skipping deletion."
+            )
+            return
+
+
+        # Perform deletion or simulate
+        if args.dry_run:
+            log.info(
+                f"DRY_RUN: {deletable_count} rows would be deleted from the "
+                f"'{db_config['table_name']}' (UpdateTime < {cutoff_str})."
+            )
+        else:
+            cursor.execute(
+                f"DELETE FROM {db_config['table_name']} WHERE UpdateTime < %s",
+                (cutoff_str,)
+            )
+            deleted_rows = cursor.rowcount
+            conn.commit()
+            log.info(
+                f"{deleted_rows} rows deleted successfully from the "
+                f"'{db_config['table_name']}' (UpdateTime < {cutoff_str})."
+            )
+
+    except MySQLdb.Error as err:
+        log.error(f"MySQL error: {err}")
+        if conn:
+            conn.rollback()
+            log.warning("Transaction rolled back due to error.")
+
+    finally:
+        if cursor:
+            cursor.close()
+        if conn:
+            conn.close()
+
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+    # Parse CLI arguments
+    parser = ArgumentParser(description='Delete stale records from APEL DB.')
+    parser.add_argument(
+        '-d', '--db',
+        help='Location of DB config file',
+        default=DEFAULT_DB_CONFIG_PATH
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        '-l', '--log_config',
+        help='Location of logging config file',
+        default=None
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        '--dry-run',
+        dest='dry_run',
+        action='store_true',
+        help='Preview deletions without executing'
+    )
+    args = parser.parse_args()
+
+    # Load configuration file
+    config_parser = ConfigParser()
+    read_files = config_parser.read(args.db)
+    if not read_files:
+        print(f"ERROR: Failed to read config file: {args.db}")
+        sys.exit(1)
+
+    # Ensure log directory exists
+    LOGFILE_PATH = args.log_config or config_parser.get('logging', 'logfile', fallback=DEFAULT_LOGFILE_PATH)
+    LOG_DIR = os.path.dirname(LOGFILE_PATH)
+    if not os.path.isdir(LOG_DIR):
+        print(f"ERROR: Log directory does not exist: {LOG_DIR}")
+        sys.exit(1)
+
+    # Configure logger
+    log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+    log.setLevel(logging.INFO)
+
+    if args.dry_run:
+        handler = logging.StreamHandler(sys.stdout)
+    else:
+        handler = logging.FileHandler(LOGFILE_PATH)
+
+    formatter = logging.Formatter('%(asctime)s - %(levelname)s - %(message)s')
+    handler.setFormatter(formatter)
+    log.addHandler(handler)
+
+    log.info(f"{LOG_BREAK}\nStarting APEL DB Purge Script\n")
+
+    delete_stale_records(config_parser, args)